Cardamom Carrot Cake + Earl Grey Frosting (gluten free)
SPRING IS FINALLY HERE IN NEW ORLEANS (!!!!!!!!!!!) It's my third favorite season after fall and bikini, so I made a cake to celebrate!
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My favorite spring activities include brunch, strawberry eating, and brunch. Yeah, I know brunch is a thing year-round but it's especially awesome in spring when it's nice out and you find a cute outdoor patio. Matt and I went to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Oxalis, for Sunday brunch this past weekend. There were fried potatoes and meats and too many carbs and a DRINK BUFFET that involves having a glass of champagne, a shot of whiskey, a cup of coffee, and an orange juice delivered to the table at the same damn time. The. Same. Damn. Time. Afterwards we went to the park with some friends and walked dogs because THAT IS A THING YOU ACTUALLY ENJOY IN SPRING. Here's some pictures in case you care about my life and aren't just here for this cake (I mean you do you, girl, it's chill):
About this cake though...
I've always thought carrot cake was delicious, but sometimes kind of boring. So, inspired by the warm weather, blue skies,* and blooming flowers I made a carrot cake that had some floral notes to make things a bit more exciting. The cardamom adds the floral elements, and is heightened by the earl grey tea that gets added to the frosting. It's dense like a traditional carrot cake, but the frosting is basically a meringue, which lightens things up a bit. I used Alice Medrich's carrot cake recipe from her incredible book, Flavor Flours, as the basis for this cake. Check out her book if you're interested in learning all about the world of non-wheat flours!
*OK, yes I know the skies are grey in my pictures but I promise they've been blue-ish lately
This recipe makes enough for two 9" round cakes
Gluten Free Carrot Caaaaaaake
- 1.25 cups coconut oil, melted
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1.5 cups (plus 1 T) brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup (plus 1 T) oat flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 2 t baking powder
- 2 t cardamom
- 1 t ground cinnamon
- 1/4 t ground nutmeg
- 1/4 t ground cloves
- 1/2 t salt
- 3 cups (about 13 ounces) lightly packed shredded carrots
- Preheat the oven to 350* F and grease your pans / line them with parchment paper.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the oil, sugar, and eggs for about two minutes until they lighten in color.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the rice flour, oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.
- Slowly add the dry mix to the egg mixture with the speed on low.
- Once it is all fully incorporated, fold in the carrots.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350*, and then drop down the temperature to 325* and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Let cool completely before frosting.
Earl Grey Frosting (recipe from the bbs over at The Food Network)
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- 2 bags Earl Grey tea
- 1 saucepan of boiling water, filled just enough to where the water won't touch the bottom of the mixing bowl once the bowl is rested on top of the saucepan
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together by hand the sugar, egg whites, lemon juice, and salt.
- Empty the tea bags into the bowl and place the bowl over the saucepan of boiling water.
- Whisk for 2 or 3 minutes until the mixture is hot and the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove the bowl from heat and place it in the body of the stand mixer.
- Using the whisk attachment of your mixer, whisk the mixture on medium-high speed for about five minutes until stiff peaks form
- Transfer to a piping back and ice the cakes.
If you're in New Orleans this weekend and want to do some fun outdoor spring shopping, head over to Little Flea Nola from 10 - 4 this Saturday, March 21st. There will be arts & crafts & vintage clothes & baked goodies by me! {1173 Magazine Street}
